One in the hand is worth……….

Made my first steelheading trip of the season the other day. The weather was perfect, perfect for chasing steelhead that is. Mother nature threw clouds, wind, rain and cool and boy did it feel good to be in the midst of it. Since they had just dropped the water levels many folks came out of the woodwork to partake. Finding good swinging water was a bit of an effort but since I was willing to walk it wasn’t too bad. Early in the day I had something happen that blew me away. One of my flies was waking across the current like 90 degrees and giving off a little wake and a fish came up and sucked on it two or three times. At first I felt it and when I looked I could see the tail behind my fly and see it getting sucked under. I never felt any weight so I never set the hook. It would have been the most amazing thing I’d ever seen on that river, but alas it wasn’t to be. Later after a long walk I found one of my favorite pools open on one side, the side I was on, and on my second pass my fly was pounded. After three strong runs the hook pulled. Oh well it happens. On my next pass another take and I landed one of those stunning bucks that you get to cross paths with too infrequently. Fishing solo limits the angles and options for photos but I did manage to get a couple of good ones. In hindsight I wish I’d gotten a measure of it’s length or a full body picture.